Well, my half-brand of vacation, anyways. My parents are coming over from the Americas (from San Diego) and I'm popping down to Vienna to hang out with them for a week.

But I'm 85% sure I'm not bringing my laptop... so there!

One last summer selfie. Sigh.

It's gonna be an excellent way to kick off the autumn vibes, and shift into that back-to-school gear that kicks in no matter how old you are.

This is also that time of year when people start saying, "Gosh, I'm just going to blink and it'll be Christmas." Which is kinda true.

On the one hand, there's still more than 25% of the year left, meaning that you're not allowed to use this as an excuse for like, anything.

On the other hand, that window of opportunity for getting hired into big kid jobs is gonna start getting smaller real fast. Why? Because holidays. And because nobody wants to onboard new employees right before the holidays.

So, yes, now's the time to start that serious job search push you've been meaning to get around to all summer.

To help ease the pain a bit, I've put together a template for you this week. I'm calling this the "Email You Send To Your Friend Who Works At That Company You're Dying To Work At And You Even Know They're Hiring And You Want To Ask Them About It But You Don't Know How So You Haven't Yet" template.

Okay, the title needs a little work.

Anyways. Insert your own specifics into the [underlined, italicized] parts:

I'm super excited about it, and I was hoping I could ask for your help. I want this job:[www.company.com/jobs/url-for-the-job-i-want]

I've been keeping tabs on it for the last few months and I've seen more than one iteration of this same position posted... I'm guessing they haven't found the right person yet. They're looking for me, I can guarantee it.

Can you help me? Do you know anyone on the [Department] team, and would you feel comfortable introducing me? I'd love your insider thoughts on the best way to approach the [Company] application process. I'm happy to put in an application first, but really would love your guidance.

I'm planning on gunning hard for this one, and I know you'll have some helpful ideas!

Looking forward to seeing you [at a game this season / over Christmas / next time we're both in town].

Thanks,Alexa

A couple things to point out:

(1) If you can find a specific job post to link to, do so. No one can help you if you don't know what position you're looking for.

(2) Don't be afraid to ask for help. They know this company a whole lot better than you do.

(3) They actually might get something out of this, too. A lot of companies, especially larger ones, will give their employees a cash bonus for referring a (successful) candidate for an open job listing. So you're actually helping your friend out, too.

Getting recommended into a job this way is called an "employee referral" and it can be one of the best, most straight-forward ways to get hired. So don't be shy. Just press send already.

Questions? Found a different tactic that works better for you? Hit reply and tell me what's up.